Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

Kind of another slow week. Not really the kind of week you want before Christmas, but i firmly believe when people are rejecting you and you are trying your hardest to get your goals but they are not coming is the point where you are the closest to finding that prepared person that you need to find. I hope that happens soon. 

We did pick up a new investigator this week who is a teacher at a middle school. He does not believe in any religion, but he does think that the christian churches here in Korea are completely money orientated. Which is true.  We talked to him about how our church is not that way, but he got caught up some little things. He knows about our Temples and General Conference. The thing he couldn't get is why we have to spend so much money making the temples big and beautiful and why do the people need to sit in big expensive looking chairs in General Conference. He said it was a waste because God would accept anything and you could give that money to help the poor. We tried to explain that we want to give our best to God and because it is the house of God we want to make it Beautiful for Him, but he didn't really seem to get it. He is a really nice guy, He just wants everything to be completely logical, but he is not confrontational at all so it is good to talk to him.

Our other investigator we met with is a literal walking hospital.. He is a pretty solid and wants to get baptized he just cant because he is always in the hospital and cant quit drinking. (two things that really shouldn't go together) We went to his house and he lives in real bad conditions. He eats really crappy, his house is NOT clean and he has no money to pay for floor heat so it is freezing. He told us he would come to Church, but he did not come.

Alot of our investigators promised to come to our Christmas Party but they did not show up...

I decided to read the Book of Mormon one more time cover to cover with the remaining chunk of my mission and I am using a Study manual along with it so i am getting new insights that I have never really thought of before. I am also planning on focusing on a Christlike attribute every week and study about that as well. I have my studying pretty well planned out for the rest of my time and hopefully carry on after.

So this week we had the Christmas party and I had the great pleasure of dressing up as Jolly old Saint Nick and distribute candy and presents to the kids. It was alot different than me doing it last year because i can speak WAY more Korean than I could last year. My miracle comes from seeing the kids. For one Korean kids are one of the cutest, but seeing them as they received the presents I gave out. Their eyes were SO bright. Makes me think and desire more to share the greatest gift of all with everyone. I want to see more people's eyes that wide when they receive the Gospel.

This is the true Church, True Gospel and He is the gift!! #sharethegift

Love You! 

Investigator from last area, possibly baptism soon

Coming home May 15- Five months from today!!!!

Hello Family!

 This week was one of those weeks that just feels like the tires are spinning and you're not really going anywhere. But it wasn't all bad. I always love the chance to get to go to the Temple, so that was a very needed experience this week. 

Th investigators ran kind of slow this week. When I first got here there was alot of potential and people meeting. But now alot of them fell of the face of the earth. I think maybe it was because they just liked Elder Smith, but we still have a couple of solid investigators. We met with one of our Chinese investigators this week and ate dinner with him. Being at the restaurant made it a little bit hard to teach him but we talked to him a little bit about why he believes in buddism. From the sound of it he doesnt really believe he just goes to the temple because it is culture. Also i dont see why he would not come to church. This last week he went to Seoul so he couldnt make it.

Then our investigator who had a baptismal date kind of dropped us...He is too busy with tests and will go back to his hometown for school vacation so he said that was the last time he could meet with us until March so that nixes his date. We are planning on giving his number to the missionaries in his hometown, maybe they can meet with him during vacation.

We picked up 2 friends as investigators both finished high school and with go to college here. One is really good at English and the other is not. They are both really cool kids. We went and ate with them and they were really surprised that we could eat meat. We explained to them that we could eat meat and talked bout the Book of Mormon with them. We also picked up an investigator from Rwanda. He is decent at English and learning Korean through English so it is a struggle for him. We are working with the office to see if we have church materials in his language.

For study this week one thing that I really liked was doing a PMG activity of What do you want to say, who do you want to become and what is the difference you want others to see in you after your mission is over. I want to finish off this last quarter of my mission strong and do exactly what the Lord will have me do.

My miracle this week was after the Temple we decided to go to the war museum. Through walking around in the museum more than all of the tanks, planes and guns my favorite part was learning about and loving the people I serve even more. There were parts in the museum where I felt an extreme amount of love for the Korean people. I love this country so much!

Love ya Lots!!!

also...im coming home on May 15th so 5 months from today^^.

 

Yummy Soup

 

Physically feeding the Body and Spirit

How are you doing?  This week was a fun but very cold week my fingers have almost fallen off a couple of times. We had the chance to meet with a couple of our investigators this week. 4 of them are progressing now. We have two Chinese investigators who we met with each of them individually. They both like to talk a lot, so sometimes it is difficult to stay on track with them but we successfully taught both of them.  Then we also have another kid that has a baptismal date for the 3rd of next month. The only catch is that he will go back to his hometown after all of his tests are over so it will be hard to teach him everything before then. He told us this after he accepted the baptismal date. The last investigator that is progressing of ours is a 24 year old from Mongolia. We wanted to watch the Restoration video with him in Mongolian, but that is not one of the options so we watched it in Korean with English subtitles, and I think that worked okay. He definitely didn't understand all of it, but he got everything he needed to. We also picked up a New investigator from Pakistan, who is very bold in his comments but he is a good guy that really wants to know what is true. he just asks a ton of really hard questions, that sent us bouncing around trying to explain it. 

For studies this week I read a couple of general conference talks and got some really good insights from that. I also read bits and pieces of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, nothing really too big or anything to report. I also read in PMG about extending commitments. there was a section that stood out to me. It says that with everything we do it should have some type of invitation or commitment. I have always known that but it kind of just stuck out to me more. I will definitely work on that a little bit more this week.

One of my miracles this week was at church. They members really trust me a lot.  They ask me lots of questions and call on me to say stuff in church. I guess I haven't really had that opportunity in a situation where i can understand what they are saying and say an intelligence answer, but I like it. Again I really love the members here. It is cool to be in a really small ward again where you can get to know people a lot better.

The food here is so cheap...and good....i will get fat.......

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!! #sharethegift

Miles

BTW: I got the xmas package. I am still figuring out when i am going home and when we are calling. LOVES!!!

Duck Meat

Spicy Crab

Ice Cream Waffle-  Oh Yeah!

New Place is great!

Here was my thanksgiving dinner pig back bone soup...delicious!!

Elder Bodan is the one in the middle.

this is called 제육덮밥 just spicy meat over rice.

 Dear Family,

My new comp is Elder Trevor Bodan from Missouri. he is super cool and funny I like him alot. He and I had a fun very first experience together when he took the wrong train and we crossed the river into the South mission. we got off at the very next stop got back on and all was fine. I like him alot. My house mates are Elder Batschi as you know and Elder Boyack, he is from Tuscon. (where exactly did we live in Tuscon so I can tell him?)

Well life here in 춘천 is great! It is quite a bit different from my last ward but I like it alot. There is a HUGE size difference. The ward here is very nice and I like the area. It is a college town so it makes me think of my days at BYU alot and makes me realize how much i miss it and how much it is going to rock me going back home. Also one perk off that is REALLY cheap food. I got one of my favorite spicy meat dishes for 3 dollars! Elder Bodan and my house are pretty nice guys, Im excited to work with all of them. I think it will be a good run here. 

As far as investigators go I haven't met a ton of them yet. I met a really cool Chinese guy. He seemed like a pretty good guy. We didnt have alot of time to teach him because he had to go back to his apartment to sign something, so I just got to introduce myself to him and say hi.

I also met another college aged student. WE taught him the Plan of Salvation at kind of a rapid fire pace because we were running out of time. It seemed like he understood it all pretty well. He had a couple of questions that we answered and we gave him the pamphlet so he can read that. Cool kid.

I am told that there are alot of cool people here that have alot of potential so I am super pumped for that.

For studies this week I read a ton of Jesus the Christ paired with the Bible. I have found that when I am just reading Jesus the Christ by its self I tend to not focus as well because it is hard to understand, but if i am reading it with the Bible it makes it easier. Also because it was Thanksgiving i did the normal Thanksgiving thing of writing down and studying gratitude. That was fun.

My miracle is this Sunday was the Primary program here. I saw the primary program in 금촌 with about 30 kids in it then the one in 춘천 with 3 kids in it. Even though there were way less kids the Spirit was still as strong, the same songs were song and there still was that screaming kid who sings really loud. I wrote down in my notes that day that the church really is the same everywhere whether you are in America, Korea or Zimbabwe, and you can feel the Spirit in all of those places.

Also i LOVE the ward members here already. They are SO nice and really happy people.

Also Recent convert update: He received the gift of the Holy Ghost and apparently the Priesthood this last Sunday. He is being fellow shipped really well there and the ward loves him! He is also helping the missionaries there teach the other investigators I had there helping 2 of them get baptismal date!!! he is already starting to influence lots of people!! Love it!

Love you!!

Tell the grandparent goodbye for me. They are going to have to give me their email and keep me posted on Africa!!

Baptism and Transfer!! 춘천

Hello!!!!!
This week was a great week first I want to say I am being transferred to 춘천(chuncheon). Which is out in the other countryside again. My new companion is Elder Bodan, who people have described him to be as a little me so it will be fun. I am also living with Elder Batschi again! do you remember him and his mom? I will definitely miss this area though. I have learned a lot here. I am actually really sad to go but I know that I need to go to . (i bet you get that a lot from people transferring.) I realized on Sunday how much I really do LOVE this ward. I have had a lot of stressful times here, and a lot has been because of miscommunication with the ward, but i will miss them so much. I took lots of pictures and got emails to stay in contact with a lot of people. Kind of a Bittersweet day.

We had a baptism!! (what a way to go out with a bang) Our high school aged investigator was baptized on Sunday and i had the awesome pleasure of baptizing him. He had a good time, even though our font broke a little bit and it was a little less than warm water. I had a couple of cool experience from that opportunity. As I was putting him down in the water I thought about what we are helping to start. He could later down the road serve a mission, serve in multiple callings in the church and be a tool for other people to come to the church. Also finding out that our bishop and 1st counselor were both baptized around the same age as him and look what great men they have become. The second experience was how well our ward especially the young men stepped up and welcomed him into the ward. They did SO well at fellow shipping him. The last experience was as we were changing in the bathroom he kind of stopped talking for a little bit and said, " Hey Elder Diede...I was thinking as I was going into the water...My sins are gone...I'm clean!" I was able to say yes they are. It was a super spiritual experience. Our first counselor came up to us after and said he has only seen a couple of people with a testimony like his when they were baptized. He even bore that testimony at the service. It was a very cool experience. Great Baptism.
Our Investigator who lived in America is also doing well. We met with him, he was kind of sad that Elder Keil and I are leaving. but Elder Savas and Elder West will do well with him. We talked about how the church is organized and he liked it a lot.We also talked a little about the gift of the Holy Ghost and other spiritual gifts. He said he will start coming to our church every other week so he is improving.

On the study side I have been reading alot of conference talks in the Liahona lately. I like the talk by Elder Ballard that says Stay in the Boat. I have also been studying in Alma as well specifically about how Amulek lets Alma in and they become one of the best(my favorite) missionary companionships ever. They worked so well together and always taught with the spirit.

My miracle is something that started with my little brother giving a challenge and making a promise to me. The deal was I do not think about sports, go on a sports fast so to say and my brother would fast for me as well. and the promise was i would get and investigator with a baptismal date who would soon be baptized. Well I did my part of the deal and so did my brother, even fasting right after football practice. We gave him a baptismal date that week and now it has come full circle and completed. I'm so grateful for my brothers faith and the challenge that he gave to me. It has been a HUGE miracle for me and I have cried thinking about it. It is one of those experiences that has changed me a lot. My brother will make a great missionary with his huge faith.

We also got to do service at a bean festival picking up trash. People from all over Korea come to this thing. The Koreans LOVED to take pictures of the foreigners serving. I felt famous having literally 40 cameras pointed at me and the other 3 Americans at once. Also we got a lot of free food and Elder Savas was interviewed on TV. it was a great way to let people see who we really are and we love to serve.

GREAT WEEK!!!!!
Miles


New Area Chucheon, S Korea

Good Investigator week!

This week has been a pretty good week for me. Nothing super special happened.

I have some good news. We talked with our high school aged investigator and he said he could persuade his mother to let him get baptized. Well long story short this last Friday we talked with his mom and got permission for him to be baptized.  It has been announced in church. we have arranged for everything to make the service go well and he will be baptized this sunday. Im super happy that this has happened!  hopefully some good pictures next week:)

James our other investigator came to the baptisimal service we had this past week for the sisters investigator. He really liked the service and is excited for his baptism on the 13th of December. The only problem is he wont come to church unless it is with his family so at the moment he cannot come to church. Also im not exactly sure if he knows exactly what all baptism entails. We will talk with him about that next week.

We also have another investigator who is progressing and is continuing to meet with us. He is 20 years old and wants to become a firefighter in America or a cop in Korea.  He likes learning English alot, but he does have alot of interest in the Gospel. We taught him the entire first lesson and has accepted it pretty well. He has started to read the Book of mormon and has read a couple pages into 1st Nephi and is continuing to read. He is doing good!

For studies this week I thought alot about how we can help our investigators recognize the Spirit in their lives. I have thought about how they cant just sit there and wait to feel it, they have to put in the work. So I will talk about that in District meeting a little bit. I am super excited for it.

My miracle this week is that both of our investigators with a baptisimal date came to the baptism that we had this weekend. They both liked the service and are both excited to be baptized. It is really exciting to see that success in our area. It makes missionary work even more fun. The only problem is Transfer calls are this week and I am almost for certain leaving 1 because ive been here for 5 transfers and 2 because im in a threesome. so.,....that kinda sucks.. 

 

LOve it to Death!!! Tell the Grandparents Hi, keep on keepin on!! Love ya!!!!

 

Elder Miles Diede

November 9, 2014

This week was full of lots of miracles and had some disappointing times too.
First the disappointing news our high school investigator with a baptismal date will not be baptized this week. He talked to his mother about baptism and she did not like it, she says that she can get baptized when he is older. We have not met her yet, we were supposed to yesterday, but he  told us not to come. We are still meeting him this Tuesday to get the rest of the story, but that was a really frustrating thing this week. 
Minus that situation we had a really hard working week. We set the goal to get 300 contacts this week to try and pick up some new investigators. We were all surprised at the end of the week when we ended up with 415 contacts, 4 new investigators and 8 lessons all to investigators. All of our new investigators are pretty solid investigators. One of them we have already met twice. One that has been really good about this is it has given us all more teaching experience to teach together. Role playing it in companionship study is alot different that teaching an actual investigator. I think our companionship teaches well together. I wouldnt have thought that because we have 2 older missionaries and one younger, but Elder Keil does a really good job taking the questions we ask to him and teaching with all his heart, maybe not with the best Korean but i definitely feel the Spirit.
We gave another investigator a baptismal date as well.  He is the Korean who has lived in America. He will be baptized on the 13th of December. he really accepted it well. The only problem with him is that he does not want to come to church alone. He wants to come with his family, mostly his wife, but his wife is the pianist for another church so he says it is hard, but he is doing well.
For studies this week I have been studying a little bit more about making commitments in Chapter 11 in PMG. That has been something that I have been struggling with lately

. Especially with this week doing lots of contacting, that is doing alot of committing too. So i picked up a couple of good ideas that I have been starting to use to improve giving commitments and following up. I also studied a little bit for district meeting to give a good presentation there.

My miracle this week was just this week. We saw plenty of miracles and we beat our goals. We just had a really good week of missionary work.

Love it to death!!!

 

Love Elder Diede